Tuscaloosa airport may see delays, hazards

Thursday

Feb 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | Local air traffic controllers are warning that shutting down Tuscaloosa Regional Airport's tower could slow arrivals and departures while increasing aircraft hazards. Air traffic manager Bill Henderson and controller Mark Powell, who have a combined 56 years of experience guiding airplanes to safety, said the potential elimination of air traffic services at the local airfield would have an obvious effect on how the airport operates.

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Local air traffic controllers are warning that shutting down Tuscaloosa Regional Airport's tower could slow arrivals and departures while increasing aircraft hazards.Air traffic manager Bill Henderson and controller Mark Powell, who have a combined 56 years of experience guiding airplanes to safety, said the potential elimination of air traffic services at the local airfield would have an obvious effect on how the airport operates.“It's not like it's going to be a nice, perfect day for flying when the tower is gone because there is potential — true potential — for catastrophe,” Powell said.Their concerns are rooted in the looming federal budget reductions that, if not extended beyond Friday's deadline, would mean a cut of $600 million from this year's budget for the Federal Aviation Administration.Powell and Henderson work for Robinson Aviation, the Oklahoma City-based company that's been hired to handle the local airport's air traffic control services.FAA funds are used to support and employ air traffic controllers at airports — large and small — across the nation. But earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the across-the-board reductions will mean furloughing air traffic controllers, which in turn will reduce the ability to guide planes in and out of airports.“For everybody, it's going to be a slowdown at some airports,” Henderson said, “and it's going to be less safe, staffing wise, for most everybody.”While the local air traffic control tower is staffed from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., pilots are expected to communicate with the around-the-clock airspace monitoring service at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. The radar there covers much of Tuscaloosa's air space.Efforts to reach Airport Manager Wayne Cameron were unsuccessful, but city officials said earlier this week that Birmingham's radar capabilities will allow the airport to maintain its current level of service even if the federal budget cuts take effect.The local air traffic controllers, however, are less optimistic.For instance, Birmingham's tower can't see below 2,500 feet, Powell said, and not all pilots know — or take the time — to check with Birmingham before landing or departing.“Most of the pilots are pretty good, but they all make errors,” Powell said. “And around this airport, with no radar and so forth, they're commonplace.”Henderson said he's witnessed pilots land at the Tuscaloosa airport without checking with Birmingham and has noticed that certain pilots are not used to dealing with an airport that lacks on-site air traffic controllers.During the day, when the tower is in operation, the Tuscaloosa air traffic controllers oversee 150 to 200 airplanes each day. And last year, Henderson said, 55,000 operations — takeoffs or landings — were recorded at the Regional Airport.“The service we provide here creates an expeditious flow of traffic,” Powell said, minutes after coordinating three airplanes that were approaching simultaneously.The daylight hours are especially busy, since business travelers routinely land or depart alongside military aircraft and others that frequent the airport.University of Alabama athletic squads — football, basketball and gymnastics, especially — make frequent use of the airport during their respective seasons.And while these budget cuts, which stand to trim $85 billion from federal programs by the end of this fiscal year and $1.2 trillion over the next decade, may eliminate the jobs of Powell, Henderson and the three other air traffic controllers based in Tuscaloosa, that doesn't appear to be their biggest fear now.For one, the FAA hasn't notified Robinson Aviation whether it stands to lose any funding. Charlie Taylor, the vice president of air traffic service for Robinson Aviation, said earlier this week that the company was awaiting word from the FAA on what to expect.Rather, the key concern — according to Henderson, especially — is whether pilots, passengers and other users of airports across the country will receive a safe traveling experience.“Everybody's concerned. The people I have are concerned. No one actually wants to be out of work,” Henderson said. “But we're talking about a much bigger puzzle than Tuscaloosa.”